Henry Frye

Henry Frye is a trailblazer in law, politics, and scholarship. He was the first African-American student to graduate from the UNC School of Law and became the first African-American chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Lawyer

August 1, 1932

92

Henry Frye, an American lawyer and former judge, is renowned for being the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of North Carolina, eventually becoming the state’s Chief Justice in 1999. A trailblazer in law, politics, and scholarship, Frye has inspired new generations to overcome obstacles and achieve their own “firsts.” Throughout his legal career, he has received numerous awards, such as the North Carolina Bar Association’s H. Brent McKnight Renaissance Lawyer Award, the N.C. Association of Black Lawyers’ Living Legend Award, and was inducted into the North Carolina Bar Association’s General Practice Hall of Fame in 2019. Notably, Frye was the first African-American student to complete all three years of study and graduate from the UNC School of Law in 1959, paving the way for his groundbreaking role as the first African-American chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.